Polyester: A Cultural History

Polyester is the most ubiquitous fabric for textiles. In 2021 textile production in the world amounted to 113 million metric tonnes, of which 54% was polyester. Yet, we seem to know very little about this most important fiber for textiles and apparel. This article fills that gap by tracing a cultural history and critique of polyester. There are several phases in the production and reception of polyester, which was invented in the early 1940s. From the initial suspicion in the 1950s for a then still expensive new fabric, it moved to an immense boom in the 1960s, only to be followed by a steep bust at the end of the 1970s. Polyester was then made interesting again in the 1980s by the avantgarde designs of the Japanese couturiers. From the 1990s onwards polyester became the staple ingredient for fast fashion. Polyester is by far the most produced and used fiber for apparel: from couture to fast fashion and from sportswear to high-tech wear. However, consumers worry about polyester’s negative impact on the environment, by not being degradable and shedding microfibers into earth and water. Polyester has moved from an optimistic age of “plastic fantastic” to the awareness of the “plastic soup.”